


Reflections Of Your Mind

by have-a-little-laith (LWritesx)



Series: Empires [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Missing Scene, Paladins, Red Paladin Lance (Voltron), Talking, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 04:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17114261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LWritesx/pseuds/have-a-little-laith
Summary: Lance never knew how much he needed to hear those words until they were spoken to him. Hearing them coming from a former Red Paladin seemed to really drive it home. Suddenly, he felt as though he could do anything with his team at his side. Alfor was right; he wasn't just some boy from Cuba anymore. He was so, so much more than that. And he was worthy of his position.





	Reflections Of Your Mind

**Author's Note:**

> the one shot conversation that lance and alfor should have had.

The shadows dissipate, revealing a silhouette of a man. He holds a broadsward in his hand, identical to Lance's. His white hair, teal blue eyes and dark skin are a dead giveaway of his identity.

"Wh-Where am I?" he mutters, observing his surroundings, lost.

"Honerva's mind," Lance responds, slowly, cautiously.

He turns, regarding Lance with an almost stoic expression.

Which leaves Lance with two important, equally as relevant questions: _how does one greet a King? And how does one greet a King,_ _who's coincidentally his girlfriend's father?_

Lance moves to bow in front of him, but Alfor waves a lazy hand in Lance's direction.

"There is no need to bow or kneel, lad. In this mindscape, we are both equals," he says, "We are both Red Paladins."

"How," Lance asks quietly, "How did you get stuck in here? In Honerva's mind?"

King Alfor's expression twists, as if he's trying to remember something but can't.

"There was a battle," he replies, "We stood facing Zarkon and Honerva, but they were not the Zarkon and Honerva of Daibazaal that we knew. Do you know how the Paladins came to be? Of Diabazaal's destruction?"

"Yes, I do. Coran told us," Lance answers.

"My advisor," a soft, intimate smile flits across Alfor's lips, one Lance feels he should not be seeing, "The rift creatures, the entities, they corrupted Zarkon and Honerva beyond recognition. Their bodies were reanimated, but their quintessence, souls as I believe you would call them, had already passed the threshold of death. The Paladins and I stood facing them in the final battle for the universe.."

His expression twists again.

"They must have defeated us. They must have obliterated our physical forms in order to trap us. My friends.." Alfor breaks off, horror painting his face, "There is no doubt they have suffered the same fate as I."

Lance gasps. Which meant that Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Keith, they were all facing the same twisted versions of the Paladins of Old as him. God, he hoped they'd be okay.

"If Honerva did this to you, all of you, _experienced_ Paladins," Lance unconsciously says aloud, finally coming to terms with the reality of the situation, "If you guys couldn't beat her, then how are _we_ supposed to defeat her?"

"Courage and patience is the key, young Paladin," Alfor advises, "Despite what you may think of yourself, I can tell you are brave and good at heart, lad. That fire that simmers within you, that fire of righteousness that aided you in unlocking my sword, take it and use it. Be there for your Black Paladin. Stay true and do not compromise yourself. Confidence is key. You are not just some boy from another planet. You are the Red Paladin of Voltron. You are the Guardian Spirit of Fire. You are brave and bold, and you stand on the right side of the war. You are a defender of the Universe. _Always_ remember that, and you will defeat Honerva."

Lance never knew how much he needed to hear those words until they were spoken to him. Hearing them coming from a former Red Paladin seemed to really drive it home. Suddenly, he felt as though he could do anything with his team at his side. Alfor was right; he wasn't just some boy from Cuba anymore. He was so, so much more than that. And he was worthy of his position.

Something booms within the distance.

Honerva knew they were here. Lance's hair on his arms stand, goosebumps kissing his flesh. He drew his Bayard, ready to fight if needed.

"Our time together runs short," Alfor says, "There is so much still to discuss, but I fear we will not get the chance. Although, I am with you. I am _always_ with you. As are my friends."

"Thank you," Lance says.

"The Red Lion has chosen a worthy man," Alfor states, looking into the distance with a small smile on his face, "So has my daughter."

The approval has Lance smiling.

"However, my last piece of is advice to you is this: wherever you heart may lead you, do not hesitate to follow it," Alfor continues, "Do not cut your path short to settle for something you thought you wanted. That is what I should have done. I should have fought and settled for ending the war, not sending the lions away because I thought I could reason with Zarkon, my friend."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Lance says, eternally greatful for his few reassuring moments with the previous Red Paladin.

"You know," Alfor tells him, as white light makes it way towards them at breakneck speed, "When the lions were scattered, it wasn't my intention for them to find new Paladins. I thought that by scattering them, by hiding them, Zarkon would be defeated as he could not locate them, nor would he have been able to locate the Black Lion and use her. I look to you and I am painfully aware that you are so young. And I realize that I should be telling you that even though good things surely came out of all of this, I truly am sorry for bringing you into an intergalactic war."

Lance doesn't get to respond, as he's engulfed in white light.


End file.
